PTO Busted, Broken, Burned & Besieged...

[Mark Allen M]

Part 1

These photos come from a personal collection that states: "Port Moresby 1944-45"

[Mark Allen M]

Part 2

Atsugi Airbase in Kanagawa Prefecture Sept 1945.

[Mark Allen M]

Part 3

Wake Island after the Japanese Surrender on September 4, 1945.

[AG pilot]

Great pics!

[Chris Brame]

Thanks as always, Mark - my dad said the Japanese planes had all been cleaned up by the time he got there in '48.
Sobering to see the VMF-211 F4F wreckage at Wake; I understand one of the cowl rings was recovered and eventually wound up on the FM-1 at the Smithsonian.

[quemerford]

Wonderful shots Mark - thanks for posting as ever. Amazed to see a Bucker Jungmann in there!!!

[bdk]

This is a great picture book book documenting the aircraft abandoned at Atsugi Airbase. Most of the text is in the form of captions to the photos. I didn't realize that an expanded version had been later released. I got the first edition when I was a teen and it was one of my favorites. Prices are all over the place on this book, but the first edition (hardcover) had large and very clear photos, all black and white of course.

https://www.amazon.com/Meatballs-Dead-Birds-Destroyed-Gallagher/dp/B00ZM3AG3Q

[marine air]

Supposedly, a third of allied aircraft were lost to weather related accidents. I suppose another 1/3 were lost due to insufficient, inadequate or non-existent preparation, ground training or flight training before jumping in and flying.

[junkman9096]

The greater number of the wrecks in the first set of photos were from the Far East Air Force - 5th AF Combat Replacement and Training Center at Nadzab It was the OTU for the Pacific area. https://pacificwrecks.com/units/usaaf/crtc/index.html

[Dan K]

Is that Jerry Johnson with the Atsugi P-40?

[Forgotten Field]

Wow! Great photo set. Particularly like the CG-13 Glider and the J2M Raiden's. Thank you for posting.

[Michel Lemieux]

Very nice collection Mark!

Thank you for sharing.

[ffuries]

What is the meaning of POOL on the Vertical Stabilizer of the P-51?

[Steve Birdsall]

Is that Jerry Johnson with the Atsugi P-40?

Yes, commander at Atsugi after the surrender. Those photos, taken by LIFE's Bernard Hoffman in September 1945, are real gems.